Death Eaters Desirable
by bane.lightwood.herondale
Summary: [SET IN HBP] Harry believes that Draco has joined the Death Eaters; he manages to convince Hermione to infiltrate the life of Draco Malfoy to find out whether or not he is a Death Eater. Things go wrong, though, when love gets in the way, and Hermione realises her mistake. Will she be able to help him, or just ruin him further? Send him retreating into darkness once and for all?
1. Prologue

He frowned at her, feeling betrayed and slightly nauseated. He couldn't believe it. "You were using me?" he asked her. She was staring at him, wishing she could go back and never agree to Harry's plan. Draco took a loud breath in, "You never actually liked me, did you? You were just using me all this time."

Hermione stuttered, "N-no," she said, her eyes wide, "Well, yes- at first! I mean, I was using you, but I like you now! I-I- Draco, where are you going?" Draco had turned and left the Library. Hermione stood from her seat and followed him. They were in the corridor outside the Library when Hermione caught up with him; his legs were much longer than hers, and his strides were long and determined too. "Draco, don't go- don't leave like this!" she was crying, and hearing the sob in her voice was the only thing that made him stop and look back. She stopped too, a safe distance from him. "Draco, I didn't like you… but I do now. Please don't leave like this." Her pleas came more from her eyes than her voice.

Draco sighed, looking down at his feet, "Hermione, I can't do this right now." he looked at her, and she knew she had lost him. She wished she could go back; stop herself from lying to him. She wished she could go back and not use him, like they both knew she had. But, in a way, she was glad she had used him, because if she hadn't, she never would have gotten to know him; she never would have fallen in love with him, and never would have experienced the bliss of being in love.

"Okay," she told him, drying her tears with the backs of her hands. She understood that there was no excuse for what she had done, and nothing she could say to him would lessen the hurt she had caused him. "I'm sorry, Draco. I'm sorry for doing this to you." He nodded, his lips fixed in a straight line as he strode away from her, his fists clenched at his sides. "I love you, Draco." She said, not raising her voice, and not knowing whether or not she hoped he had heard her.

It was the first time he had heard those words from her, and he wanted to turn and embrace her, kiss her, say the words back to her. But he didn't. He kept walking, and when he got back to his room in the Slytherin dorms, he took a shower, and let the water wash his tears away.

He tried to forget she even existed.

He tried to forget that he loved her.

It didn't work very well though.


	2. Chapter One

"Draco Malfoy," Harry said the name like an epiphany, "I can't believe I never thought of this before!" Harry was up on his feet, pacing the length of the common room. His steps were uninterrupted because- other than the golden trio- the common room was deserted. All the other Gryffindors were asleep at this time of night, which gave Harry, Ron and Hermione the perfect opportunity to plan their next step. Harry, it seemed, had had a light-bulb moment, and he wasn't sparing a moment to let his friends in on the secret. "It's so obvious," he mumbled under his breath, expressing his exhilaration with rushed hand gestures, "Why didn't I think of this weeks ago?"

Hermione and Ron met each other's eyes, and Ron shrugged. He was used to his friend doing this; coming to a conclusion and then thinking it through in his brain, rather than sharing it with him. Hermione was frowning disapprovingly at Harry, "Harry, would you please sit down and talk to us?" she was impatient at the best of times, and she was tired enough as it was. She wasn't in the mood to deduct Harry's bizarre mood swings.

Harry fell down beside her, grinning, "Malfoy is up to something- I know he is." His legs were crossed, and he was leaning back on his arms. "He's joined them." He said dramatically.

Ron's eyebrows were furrowed as he frowned at his friend, questioning the other boy's sanity, "What?" he asked, "What is he up to? And who is "he"?" Ron scowled; he may be used to being left out of Harry's brilliant moments, but that didn't mean he didn't get extremely aggravated at them. Ron was just happy that the 'brain' of their group was left out too. "And what do you mean by them."

Hermione frowned, "I assume he is Draco Malfoy." She said slowly, "What are you thinking, Harry." She hated the suspense she was under; she wanted to go to sleep.

Harry rolled his eyes, as if the answers to their questions were obvious, "Draco Malfoy has joined the Death Eaters." He widened his eyes to prove that he wasn't joking. Harry was expecting his friends to suddenly brighten- 'oh!' 'of course!'. He didn't get that reaction though, instead…

Hermione rolled her eyes.

Ron scoffed, "As if." A smirk tugged at Ron's lips.

Harry's jaw dropped, but he quickly moved to defend his allegation, "His father is a death eater. It only makes sense!" he exclaimed.

Hermione shook her head, smiling, "Honestly, Harry, I thought you might have gotten a real idea." She laughed, "Come on, we're all tired. We'll start again in the morning. We don't need to stay up thinking of impossible scenarios." She got to her feet and, with a yawn, so did Ron.

Harry jumped up immediately, "No- I'm right!" Hermione shushed him, and with a sheepish smile, he lowered his voice, thinking of the sleeping Gryffindors upstairs. "Hermione, it is the only excuse!" his voice is practically pleading. "Look me in the eyes and tell me it's impossible."

Hermione hesitated.

Ron laughed, "It's impossible." He said for Hermione, still smirking, "Malfoy is useless. I doubt Voldemort would want anything from Malfoy." He started t walk to the stairs, but stopped when he realised that Harry and Hermione's eyes were still locked.

Hermione bit her lip, "Fine, it isn't impossible," she allowed, "And I get what you mean, Harry, Draco is doing- something, but I don't think he is a Death Eater. That is a really serious thing, Harry, and I am almost certain that the dark lord-" she said the name like mockery, "- isn't enlisting unexperienced students." She shook her head, crossing her arms, "We don't have time to waste on pointless leads." She shrugged.

Harry's jaw set stubbornly and Hermione groaned; she knew that expression. It was the 'I-am-determined-to-do-this-so-you-won't-be-able-to-reason-with-me' look, and when it came to Harry, there really was no reasoning with him- not when he had set his mind on something.

She frowned, "Fine." She wouldn't waste any more time arguing; she was going to go to sleep while she still could. "We'll start planning tomorrow, but right now," she yawned, "I'm going to bed. Good night, boys." She waved half-heartedly and Ron watched her climb up to the girls' dorms. Harry was already going up to the boys'. Ron followed Harry, grumbling about how it was all a waste of time.

Harry hadn't slept that night. Instead, he had stayed up all night long, brain storming on his own. When he came down to breakfast the next morning, there were dark shadows beneath his eyes, but he was grinning, "I have a plan." He had told Ron and Hermione, and as he devoured some toast, he explained his plan.

"Hermione, you'll try and befriend the snake." The snake, Hermione realised quickly, was Draco's codename. Hermione scoffed at that step, but let her friend continue. "When you are close to him, you get a look at his wrist. Either he'll have a dark mark, or he wont. If he doesn't, you get out of there, and we'll figure out what we do next… if he does, I guess we do the same." Harry waited for the praise that was never going to come.

Ron let out a booming laugh, making a few nearby first-years flinch, "Are you out of your bloody mind?" he asked, his voice amused, "You think the snake is gonna be interested in friendship with Hermione? Do I really need to remind you of all the horrible things he's said about her?" Ron shook his head, "This might be your worst plan yet, my friend, and that is including the whole spider-forbidden-forest thing in our second year." He paled at that particular memory.

Hermione's lips tilted upwards in a smiled, "Ron's right, Harry. Malfor wouldn't want to be friends with a mu-" she couldn't bring herself to say the word. Mudblood, she thought, mudblood, mudblood, mudblood. "With someone like me." She picked her words carefully. "Also," she said indignantly, "How come it's me who would have to do that- why not you or Ron?"

Harry shrugged, "The snake hates me and Ron more than he hates you. And we can't exactly hire someone else to join our little mission, can we?" Hermione grimaced. "Plus, you could use your…" Harry suddenly became very flustered, "feminine charm…"

Hermione blushed bright red immediately- as did Ron (not that anyone noticed)- and exclaimed, "Harry!" her eyes were round and wide, "As if I would!" she frowned at even the notion, "First of all, that is sexist and degrading." She glowered at her friend, who looked to be wishing that the ground would swallow him up. "Second of all, do I look like the type of girl who knows how to use feminine charm?" she rolled her eyes.

She had refused to even consider the plan. But then a week passed, and Draco acted more and more suspicious. Hermione found that not only was her curiosity building, but so was her sense of dread. She had realised that Draco might not be as "useless" to Voldemort as Ron had believed. He was a source of knowledge for Voldemort; he knew where Harry was; he could keep tabs on the staff (and Harry)… Draco might start following them; making sure that Voldemort was always two steps ahead. This could be bad- really bad.

She fell into the seat opposite Harry- and next to Ron- at dinner and sighed, "I'll do it." she said. She had tried so hard to think of another plan, but she couldn't. "I'll follow your plan, Harry." Her eyes narrowed on Draco, "I think you're right. He's been acting weird." She grimaced. "This might be our only chance to find out before Malfoy starts thwarting our plans."

Harry grinned, happy that his plan was finally being taken seriously, "Okay, good," he said, "We can plan it tonight in the common room, and start tomorrow- if you are up for that?" he looked at Hermione nervously; she nodded. "Thank you, Hermione." He smiled warmly at his friend.

Ron looked between them both for a minute, and then gasped, "Wait a minute…" he mused, "Are you talking about that insane plan from the other day?" Ron looked appalled, "I thought we all agreed it was stupid- and insane."

Harry frowned, disgruntled, "Well, I didn't agree." He said sulkily.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I know, Ron. Believe me, no one wants to do this less than me, but I think Draco is doing something, and I'll be able to rest easy again if I know for certain that there isn't a death eater inside Hogwarts.

Ron frowned, "I'm not happy with this." He stated, as if that wasn't obvious, "Hermione, what if he hurts you?" Worry shapes Ron's features.

Hermione shrugged, "I guess that's a risk I'm gonna have to take." She started to eat her dinner, and spotted Ginny on her way to the table,, "Look, Ginny's coming. We'll meet later in the common room tonight to talk about this more."

The boys only had time to nod once before Ginny sat down next to Harry, smiling pleasantly, "Hey, guys."


	3. Chapter Two

He was sitting in the library, alone at a wooden table, surrounded by three empty wooden chairs. He jumped when she sat next to him- actually jumped, as if he had been burnt by an open flame, or seen a ghost. His eyes were different when he was surprised; wide and round and uncharacteristically open in their silver depths. It was almost intriguing. He recovered quickly though, and his lips pulled into a scornful sneer, "What is it, Granger?" he said the name in the same tone he used when he called her a 'mud-blood' and she ignored the flinch the voice promoted along her spine.

Hermione's hands were fists at her sides, and she hoped he didn't notice. Her smile was so clearly false, but he didn't notice that- he seemed even more unnerved by it; she caught another glimpse of his startled, round eyes before they hardened to grey cement again. "I wanted to talk," she rolled her eyes and tried to pretend she was talking with Harry or Ron. When she looked at her hands, she almost succeeded, but Harry's eyes never made her feel as if she were on trial for a hideous crime; Draco made her feel as if she was guilty. "Why else would I be here?"

Draco didn't have an answer for that, since this was as unexpected as it was confusing. Hermione was wearing light blue jeans, a green t-shirt, a black knitted cardigan and black plimsolls. Her brown hair was massively curly, and it fell over her shoulders and made her face look small and pale. He watched her like he would watch an animal at a circus; with vague anxiety and even vaguer contempt.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, smiling and trying to get comfortable; it was difficult, though- under his sharp gaze. She looked up at him, "Look, I get that this is weird," she frowned when he scoffed, giving her a look that asked, 'really, you really think so?' Hermione rolled her eyes, "But we're getting older, you know," she sounded very much like her mother- or worse, his mother, "We should be mature," she looked into the distance, as if she were trying to look mature, "How about we leave this silly unfriendliness behind?"

Draco stared at her still, his brows low on his pale face, "Excuse me?" he didn't mean it politely- or even impolitely! He just felt confused, and that was rather infuriating.

Hermione looked away- at her hands- with a grimace; maybe he wouldn't go for it… oh, Merlin, she had known this was a mistake right from the start! Why did she do it? Her mind was racing with uncertainty. Just get out, she told herself, make an excuse and pretend this never even happened! She swallowed and turned back to Draco. He still looked like a complete moron- a caveman, with that Neanderthal expression. "You know what, never mind me." She stood up, making for an exit. "Great talking with you, Draco- really," Well, that was a bold-faced lie. "Bye," his eyes were slightly rounder.

"Hey, wait a second," Draco had stood up. His face was a little bit red, and he looked nervous. He was wondering to himself, who does she think she is? The Good Samaritan? Acting so pretentious and superior. He frowned at her; he could be just as pretentious and superior- he had been raised to be pretentious and superior. Without meaning to, he puffed his chest out a little, "Yes, well," he began, his lips slightly twitching upwards- he tried his best not to sneer. "You're right. We're old enough to get over that sort of thing." he looked at her, trying, now, to look down his nose at her; it added to the effect. "Friends?" at her surprised expressions, he felt warmth creeping up his neck and along his arching cheekbones; he grimaced, "Or, rather, acquaintances."

Hermione nodded quickly, was he purposely trying to sneer? If so, that certainly contradicted his words. She cast that thought aside and smiled at him in a manner she genuinely hoped was kind. "Great." She said, "Acquaintances, it is." She grinned at him. "Alright, see you later," they both waited to see what she would call him, and she felt the name burn in her throat like nail polish remover, "Draco." She ducked out of the library then, and just outside, she leant against the wall and tried not to gag. Being nice to Malfoy seemed wrong on every level. She didn't like it.

Draco watched her leave with a frown. He shrugged, how strange.

Harry was eager to hear about the results of their latest experiment, but Hermione said that she didn't want to risk anyone hearing and getting the wrong idea, so they would discuss it later that night, in the Gryffindor common room when their Gryffindor housemates were sleeping. Still, all through dinner the boy was practically bouncing with curiosity and excitement. Hermione almost told him to stop being annoying, but Ron beat her to it.

"Bloody hell, mate, calm down." The red haired boy laughed, uneasy, looking around nervously. He was worried, like Hermione, that someone would overhear them, and know what they were doing. He dreaded the thought of someone using the information to blackmail them, or worse, wanting to join the group.

Harry stopped bouncing, but he was still grinning; Hermione and Ron decided that this was the best they could get. Harry looked at Hermione, expectant, and asked, "So, what happened? Tell us everything."

Ron laughed, "You sound like some chick wanting to know about her first date." He commented, amused.

Harry sent a sideways glare at Ron, and then turned his attention back to Hermione, who sighed.

She had been holding it off- telling them about her and Draco's exchange, that is- and she didn't really know how to say it. It felt like such a giant event in her life; how could she summarise? Nodding to herself, she began, "I went to the library, and I sat next to him. He was like, "What is it, Granger?" And I said, I want to talk. So I did. He actually listened—"

"That's a first," Ron muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. Hermione rolled her eyes too.

She continued, "—So I said, since we're getting older, we should try to be more mature. We should leave the unfriendliness in the past—"

"And he bought that?" Harry interrupted her this time, his eyes incredulous and unbelieving. His childhood nemesis couldn't have been that easy to persuade, could he?

"Well, not at first," Hermione acknowledged, "I realised that he wasn't going to agree, so I decided to give up. I didn't want to be there when the rumours started circulating, you know?" Harry looked frustrated, but he nodded. "And then he said we're old enough to get over that sort of thing, and he said, Acquaintances? And I said yes. So that's it. I left the library, and… yes." She wasn't quite sure what to say. She had told them what had happened, but she almost felt that she shouldn't say some of it; it almost felt private and personal, and it had been a long time since she had had anything private from Harry and Ron. "It was weird though," She said, "Either he was trying to be weird and superior, or he just didn't know how to be nice." She frowned.

Ron laughed, "Probably the second one, Mione," He said, "I don't think Draco has ever been nice- ever." Harry smiled, agreeing with his best friend.

Hermione tried to smile.

"I guess we should get to planning step two, then." Harry said. "We need to get you," He looked at Hermione, "Close enough to Malfoy, that you can get a look at his wrist." He frowned, "You might have to pretend to be more than friends with him, Hermione."

Hermione laughed, "No way in hell, Potter."

Harry frowned, understanding that there wasn't much point in going on with that point; he couldn't blame her, and he felt bad for even suggesting it. Ron looked absolutely sickened by the idea. He glared at Harry, though the malice was directed not at his friend, but at Malfoy.

"Well, it's been a long day. I'm going to bed. Good night." Hermione was already halfway up the stairs when Harry and Ron called 'night' up to her.

Ron smiled, "I'm gonna go to bed too, mate." He said, standing up from where he had been sitting with his back against a sofa. His legs were aching from having been crossed for so long. He walked up the stairs, to the boys dorm; Harry was right behind him.

Hermione closed her eyes as she fell against her bed, her head caressed by the soft pillow. She was thinking about Draco, and how his ivory hair had brushed his eyes, and he had swept it aside much like a super model. He was easily the most attractive boy she had ever known, in a distant, rude, snobbish way. He was also the person she really disliked. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried her best to find sleep, but it evaded her. She kept thinking of how she had felt guilty, as if she was using Draco; hurting him. He deserved to be hurt, she told herself, but it still felt like a crime.

Ron collapsed against his bed a moment before Harry fell into his. Ron had a sense of worry pooling in his gut; worry for Hermione. Ron worried that Hermione would get herself in too deep, and there wouldn't be a way to help her find her way back. She was strong and brave and clever, but she was too keen to believe the best in people, and that could make her vulnerable to Draco. As far as Ron was concerned, Draco was bad, and there was no good in him; nothing that made him deserving of Hermione. Scowling, Ron rolled onto his side, telling himself to remember that Hermione was only pretending; Draco didn't have to be deserving of Hermione, because she would never feel anything but hatred for the Slytherin.

Harry smiled, feeling that Step One had been a success. He would have to think of what to do next, but he fell into sleep easily, with a triumphant feeling. He knew that it wouldn't be long until he knew whether Draco had joined the Death Eaters. Harry was already certain that Draco had joined them, but he wanted proof, evidence, and he would get it.


	4. Chapter Three

Hermione was wearing a dress for the first time in a long time, and she had braided her hair carefully too. She felt as if she was putting too much effort into Harry's scheme, but then again, what was so bad about her wanting to look nice? After all, it wasn't everyday that she got to leave the Hogwarts castle and take a day-trip down to Hogsmeade. Her dress was white- a colour she thought was safe from house prejudice- and it had lacy detail on the bodice and a black ribbon sash around the waist. She was also wearing a black cardigan with little red buttons on; the cardigan had quarter-length sleeves and it hung, undone, to her waist. She was also wearing the little black boots with kitten heels that her mother had bought her the previous Christmas; it was her first time wearing them.

She hadn't formally arranged to be Draco's partner, but she was planning on cornering him in Hogsmeade and inviting him to the Three Broomsticks for a butter beer. She was thinking that she might get a chance to look at his wrist, but then again, she couldn't imagine how that would come up.

She was going to walk out of the castle with Harry and Ron, and spend the first part of the day with them. She did need to buy more parchment and ink, anyway, and she had been meaning to buy a new book too.

Ginny was standing at her mirror, combing her hair. It was straight, for the most part, and Hermione found herself envying the girl's straight locks. Curly hair could be such a nuisance sometimes. She had wanted her hair to be nice today, and had barely managed to control it in the braid. Still, she thought it was nicer than usual.

Ginny smiled at Hermione and the two girls walked downstairs together. Ginny was wearing dark blue denim jeans and a pale blue sweater. Hermione was envious, again, of Ginny's casual attire, and she was questioning herself on why she was so dressed up.

To Hermione's relief, she wasn't the only girl in the Gryffindor common room who was wearing a dress. Lavender was wearing a red frilly dress, and another girl was wearing a pink dress.

Ron and Harry looked at her when she stopped in front of them. Harry grinned, "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" He asked humorously, nudging Hermione's arm with his. Ron didn't say anything, but he was looking at Hermione and silently cursing himself for letting her go though with this stupid Malfoy plan.

The group soon left the Common Room. Hermione was walking beside Ron, and Harry and Ginny were walking together, chatting animatedly about the latest Quidditch game. Ron was talking about Quidditch too, but Hermione was too nervous to listen. She did, though, nod and reply with a vague 'yes' when it was called for.

Outside of the Castle, Hermione's peers had gathered together. It was a sizeable group, but Hermione immediately saw Draco, surrounded by his stupid goons. Draco was wearing smart black trousers, a white t-shirt, and a black coat. Hermione realised that she never saw Draco wearing anything that exposed his forearms. This only filled Hermione with a tiny, unrecognisable sense of dread.

Draco did look nice, though.

He saw Hermione, and came to the same conclusion; she looked nice. He smiled slightly at her and she smiled back, raising her hand just a little bit in a lazy wave. Draco snapped out of his idiocy and sneered at her just the way he always had. He reminded himself that even though Granger had put on a dress, she was still Granger; ordinary, boring and not remotely attractive.

Still, it was a nice dress. And her hair looked nice too; different from her usual cloud of chocolate curls.

Draco looked away from Hermione, and back at his friends, who- thank Merlin- hadn't noticed Draco's momentary change.

Harry and Ron walked on either side of Hermione as the Hogwarts students left the school grounds and it wasn't long before they were in Hogsmeade. Hermione loved these trips. Hogwarts was her home and she loved her time there, but still, there was something so comforting about a change in scenery, yet Hogsmeade was familiar enough to soften her nerves and bring a smile to her lips.

Ron wanted to go to honeydukes and Zonko's joke shop, and Harry wanted to go to spintwitches. Hermione happily went with them to those shops, and even looked around too- even though there wasn't anything in those shops that Hermione really wanted. She did treat herself to a Chocolate Frog, though, and had to laugh at herself when the card depicted Morgan le Fay; a well known- very powerful- dark witch from the Middle Ages.

After she had gone with them to those shops, she made them go to the shops of her choosing with her. First, they went to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, because Hermione's quill had snapped a week ago. Then she dragged her friends to Dominic Maestro's music shop, and finally the three of them found their way to Tomes and Scrolls. Hermione lost herself in the bookshelves inside the book shop, and she spent more money there than she would admit. Harry was quite patient, but Ron was groaning and whining about how bored he was.

The three of them were on their way to the Three Broomsticks when she saw Draco loitering alone outside Spintwitches and Harry gestured for Hermione to go over there. Hermione felt a little disrespected, but nevertheless, she made her way to Malfoy.

When she stopped in front of Draco, Draco didn't look especially pleased to see her. In fact, he grimaced. "Hey," He said, sounding close to miserable. Hermione screwed up her nose at this, then stopped when she realised that that probably canceled out all of her efforts to look nice.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked him, genuinely intrigued.

Draco shrugged, "Don't worry about it," He replied gingerly, careful not to look directly at her. Hermione shrugged back at him. "Hey, do you wanna get a butter beer?" Draco asked nonchalantly.

Hermione nodded, and smiled, because she had expected that to be so much harder.


	5. Chapter Four

Hermione had thought that conversation would be a bit of a barrier between her and the Slytherin devil, but as it turned out, they couldn't shut up. They had more in common than Hermione had ever expected- or would ever admit. Draco was funnier than she expected, too. Hermione didn't know what she had thought he would be like, but his humour oddly matched hers pretty well. She was so used to Ron's childish humour, that she felt constantly unsuspecting whenever Draco made her laugh out loud. Her laughter wasn't practiced or pretty; it was real, and dragged from her in a moment of surprise.

Every time Hermione laughed, Draco was just as surprised as she was. No one ever really thought he was particularly funny. They all found him boring. Some people called him an old man; that was something he was not happy about, but he couldn't bring himself to tell his father that. Hermione had a laugh that was torn between funny and cute. And once, Draco heard her actually snort. Ordinarily, he would have thought it gross. But she actually looked kinda adorable.

He scowled at that thought.

But she did look nice.

He quickly looked away from her; his cheeks were just slightly pink.

Hermione was wearing a dress. That alone was enough for celebration, as Draco was sure he hadn't seen the golden Gryffindor girl wearing a dress in all of the six years he had known her. She actually looked like a girl, and not some know-it-all brat. Her hair was pretty too; the braids made her hair look sweet, and not at all frizzy. And her legs were surprisingly slender and attractive. And now that she had finally unbuttoned her cardigan, Draco could see her fair skin and her collarbone.

Why was a collarbone so attractive? Draco wondered. He shook his head quickly to shake away the thought. Hermione Granger was not attractive- in any way. She was nerdy and dorky and ugly and a complete loser. Draco was so out of her league.

"Hey, are you alright?" Hermione was looking at him with a- damn it- adorably concerned expression. She was biting her bottom lip, and her nose was screwed up. She even tilted her head. How is she suddenly so fucking adorable? Draco asked himself in confusion. Then he shook his head again, telling himself to get a hold of himself.

"Yes. Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He asked indignantly, suddenly looking annoying and obnoxious. Hermione folded her arms across her chest straight away, her lips pursed and her cold eyes not looking at Draco. He stared at her, wondering what had changed so quickly. He frowned at her. "Hey, you okay?" He asked uncertainly.

Hermione looked at him, feeling only a little bit annoyed- but mainly at herself. She had allowed herself to forget what she was supposed to be doing. She had smiled and laughed and grinned- and it hadn't been part of the investigation; it had just happened. How had she forgotten who she was talking to? This wasn't just Draco; this was Malfoy. And while Draco turned out be funny and cute and nice; Malfoy was a suspected Death Eater, and a pompous jerk- not to mention a complete bully!

Hermione smiled, but even Draco could see that it wasn't the same smile as before. This was the slightly fake, grinning-and-baring-it smile. This was the one he associated with Granger. He preferred the way Hermione smiled. Still, he didn't say anything. "Sorry, I just… thought about something." She blurted.

"Oh," Draco murmured, "Right." He looked at her, confusion spelling on his features. "You wanna talk about it?" He asked, not sure whether he really wanted to talk about it, himself. But it had seemed like the appropriate thing to say.

Hermione narrowed her eyes on him, as if she were deciding something, and Draco forced himself not to squirm under the scrutiny. Finally, Hermione nodded, deeming him acceptable. "Okay," She said decisively, "But this stays between us, right?"

Draco nodded.

"Me and Harry just had a huge fight." Hermione said, biting her bottom lip nervously. "And Ron, as usual, sided with Harry. So now, neither of them will even talk to me!" She usually wasn't one for stage dramatics, but hey, so far this was a day for firsts, so she threw her head down in her hands, and her shoulders even shook under her instruction.

Draco stared, his eyes wide and round and terrified. Was she crying? What the hell? He didn't know how to act, or what to say. He didn't like crying girls at the best of times, but this was Hermione Granger. While Draco had never been her biggest fan, he had always thought that she was strong, in a brave, fearless kind of way. But why was she crying? Hermione Granger had never struck him as a crier.

Still, he was a guy. And he didn't like to just sit there and watch a pretty girl crying. And, really, at this point, there was no point in pretending he didn't think she was pretty.

That was fairly obvious.

"Hey," He said, and he stood up. Hermione was actually making little gasping sob noises now. Draco felt way out of his depth, but he knew what he was supposed to do. So he did that. He dropped to a crouch beside her chair so that he was at level with her face. "Hey," His voice was softer than even Draco had ever heard it. Hermione looked up, and was grateful for her ability to fake tears, because she had tear stains down her cheeks, and her mascara had smudged under her eyes. She looked pathetic. And kind of endearing, in a weird way. "Hey, come here," Draco said, reaching up and using his thumbs to stroke away her tears.

Hermione took in a sharp gasp, because she had not expected him to be so gentle and comforting. She made a little hiccup noise, and Draco smiled. It was a sad sort of smile, but kind and sweet and sympathetic. He cupped her cheeks in his hands, "It's okay," He said, "I'm sure you guys will make up." He smiled again, "I'm pretty sure that you, Potter and Weasley are a package deal. The Golden trio, right?"

Hermione let out a shaky breath, and grimaced, "I don't know." She admitted. "We've fallen out before, but this is different. They won't forgive me." She shrugged sadly.

Draco's brow furrowed, "What did you do?" He couldn't help from asking.

Hermione grimaced again, because she hadn't thought so far ahead yet. She shook her head quickly, "I can't tell you." She said.

Which was true.

Draco went to argue, because that was his default setting, but he stopped when he saw her pitiful expression. He stood back up and sat back in his chair opposite her. "Okay," He agreed, "You can just tell me when you're ready, though, right?" He asked, his curiosity still biting at him. But maybe Hermione Granger was a girl after all, despite how weird she was, and sometimes girls were emotional.

Hermione nodded, "Yeah," She said, "When I'm ready." She would only be ready after a brainstorming session with her best friends, though, because she had no idea what excuse to use. The truth was that she and her best friends were still very much on speaking terms. She would have to ignore them until they could speak in secret. "I think I'll just go clean myself up a bit in the ladies' room," She said quietly. "I'm really sorry about that. Thanks for being so nice."

She stood up, nodding at him, and she made her way to the toilets'. She had been right; her mascara was rimming her eyes, and she resembled some strange panda bear. She washed off the ruined make up in front of the mirror, and she smiled. She had revealed weakness to Draco Malfoy, and hopefully, he would return the gesture before long. Maybe he would entrust her with a secret. Or just show her his wrist.

Hermione spent the rest of the day with Draco, avoiding Harry and Ron. She walked back to the Castle with Draco too. He was holding her bag from Tomes and Scrolls for her. It seemed that her fit of tears had turned Draco into a man of chivalry. She suspected he was scared she would start crying again at any moment.

At the doors to Hogwarts, Hermione turned to Draco, and he gave her back the Tomes and Scrolls bag. She smiled, "Thanks, Draco. I had a good time." She considered rising up on her tip-toes and kissing his cheek, and nearly blanched at the thought. Instead, she hesitantly patted his arm and said, "Thanks for listening to me too. If you ever need someone to talk to…" She shrugged, "I'm here."

Draco smiled back at her; a genuine smile, too. "Thanks," He said pleasantly. "I'll keep that in mind." He started to walk into the castle, and called back over his shoulder, "See you around, Hermione." He smirked as he walked the Hogwarts corridors, on his way to the Snakes' den; a.k.a. the Slytherin common rooms.


	6. Chapter Five

In hogwarts, rumours spread like wildfire.

Students had seen Draco and Hermione on their "date"- as people were calling it- and Hermione was incredulous when she discovered that a lot of people were actually supporting their so called "love affair." One hufflepuff girl had come running up to Hermione in the Great Hall at lunchtime, simply to congratulate her on her new romance. The hufflepuff said that she hoped things worked out for her and the Slytherin boy.

Hermione had flushed bright red and hissed, "We're just friends!" And then Hermione had hurried off to join Harry and Ron, who were both sympathetic to her predicament. It wasn't until she was standing right behind them that she realised she was still- supposedly- mad at them. She glared at them, made a comment about them being "juvenile idiots", and then she stormed away and sat down beside Ginny Weasley, who was uncertain as to where her loyalties should stand.

Draco had received just as much attention as Hermione, but his reputation kept the fans at bay. Still, he saw people looking at him, and heard them lowering their voices to whispers when he was nearby, and some of his Slytherin friends even asked him if it was true; was he really dating Granger? Draco shook his head, 'no,' of course they weren't, 'were just… acquaintances.' That was all he had been able to tell them, because he and Hermione didn't feel like a couple, and they didn't feel like friends.

It was, all in all, very confusing.

Still, he wasn't going to deny- to himself, at least- that he thought she was attractive. She had nice skin, and nice hair- even though he hadn't liked it in their younger years. And she always looked nice, whatever she was wearing; robes, t-shirts, jumpers, dresses.

He scolded himself. She was a filthy mud blood, and not good enough to even shine his shoes, so he should get rid of anything between them.

Not everyone at Hogwarts supported the new power couple, though. A lot of Gryffindors were distrusting of the Slytherin, and most of the Slytherins thought Granger was reaching above herself; she wasn't good enough for a Malfoy.

The library was easily Hermione's favourite place at Hogwarts; it was quiet and peaceful and she was surrounded by all her leather-bound and paperback friends. She could lose herself in a book, and while non-fiction was her favourite, she was really enjoying an action-adventure novel when Draco Malfoy found her there.

She had to stop in the middle of a sentence; the Wizard protagonist had just been casting a lethal spell at a faceless enemy. She wondered whether she should learn the spell. It could be useful later on.

Draco didn't look at all amused as he fell into the chair opposite Hermione. "Granger," He started, not unkind but a far stretch from pleasant. "We need to talk."

Looking woefully at her page number, she closed the book, silently committing the number to memory. She smiled sheepishly at Malfoy, trying not to recoil from his cold gaze. "What's up, Draco?" She asked amicably, silently praying to Merlin that he wasn't on to her.

"People are talking about us." He said simply, looking very unhappy about this.

Hermione willed herself not to be offended by the knowledge that Draco was so foul-tempered by speculation to their relationship. "I know, it's so annoying." She rolled her eyes, "They'll be calling us star-crossed lovers next." Draco's lip curled at this.

"We need to put an end to this… friendship. Now, before it spurns any more debate." He pursed his lips, looking uncomfortable. "It's not good for either of our reputations. And my father would not be pleased to hear about this, Hermione."

Hermione's brown eyes were round and her lips slightly parted; she hadn't been expecting any of that. None of that fit with her plan. She still needed to find our whether or not he was a Death Eater. 'But—" She started, not quite sure what to say. She took a deep breath, "We're just friends, Draco. Why not just let them all say what they like. We know the truth." She smiled nervously.

The plan was falling apart.

Draco shook his head, "We can't be friends, Hermione." He said stoically, and Hermione could have mistaken Draco for Lucius in that moment. "We aren't the same." He didn't want to offend her; he didn't want to call her any rude names.

Hermione laughed shortly and humourlessly, "Draco, how can you say that? We have so much in common." She hated that this wasn't actually a lie; she honestly did enjoy talking to him. "And besides, I thought we'd left all this blood-prejudice in the past."

Draco swallowed nervously, "I can't leave it in the past, Granger." He used her surname deliberately, filling his voice with ice-cold malice. "It's who I am, and it's who I was raised to be. It's my family legacy." He wasn't lying either.

"That's all I have to say, Granger." Draco said in a hushed voice, and then he stood to leave.

"Maybe so, but I haven't even started, Malfoy." She bit her lip, irritation flaring up in her at the dismissal from Draco Malfoy. Something in her cold glare made Draco sit back down. "What gives you the right to just…" She flailed hopelessly, wishing that she and her friends had planned ahead for this. "The right to just toss me aside as if I don't even matter? That's not what friends do, Draco." She crossed her arms over her chest indignantly.

Draco looked as though he wanted to curl his lip and say something rude, but wouldn't let himself. His conscience was getting to him, at last. "Exactly," He said stoically, "We aren't friends, Hermione. So I can toss you aside." He avoided her gaze.

Hermione widened her eyes and gritted her teeth, irritated. "Well, as long as you are calling me by my first name, we are friends." Hermione had never, in all the time since she'd met Draco Malfoy, imagined that she might be arguing with him over their "friendship."

Draco took a shallow breath, "Fine, Granger," He said, just as annoyed. Why couldn't she just take the- not too subtle- hint and back off? Why was she trying so hard to weasel her way in? "I won't call you by your first name."

He stood back up, refusing to argue over this any longer. He had made his decision.

"See you in Potions class," Hermione yelled after him, "Save me a seat!" Draco gritted his teeth and walked faster.

Feeling extremely annoyed, Hermione collected her things up and stood, leaving the library before she could be scolded for her loudness. Draco should know, though, that Hermione always got what she wanted; it was just a case of hard work. And she was as determined as ever.

She wasn't going to accept this brush-off.


	7. Chapter Six

Ditching Hermione Granger turned out to be easier said than done. All the following week, Hermione kept popping up at the least helpful times: usually when a lot of his slytherin friends were around. Draco was determined not to use malice or threats to ward off the witch, but he couldn't make all his friends do the same, and they weren't exactly pleased to have one third of the Golden Trio hanging around.

Draco had tried to diffuse unpleasant situations whenever one of the slytherins started on Granger, and so far his peers had respected him enough to just walk away from the girl, but they always had that familiar expression on their face as they left: the one that promised they would get to her later, when her slytherin guard wasn't around to protect her. Draco was starting to wonder whether he was endangering her by trying to cut her out, but then he reminded himself that she was the one endangering herself, and she was capable of protecting herself anyway.

It also didn't help that, for the fist time ever, he was starting to feel sympathy for the gryffindor. He hadn't seen her with Potter or Weasley at all since they spent the day in Hogsmeade together, and to make things worse, Draco often caught her ex-friends looking at Hermione, clearly talking about her behind her back. Considering all the help she'd been to them over the years, Draco thought their behaviour was despicable, and that was coming from Draco Malfoy!

But still, Draco had his own concerns: his father, to name one. The pressure Lucius was putting on Draco had doubled lately, and he couldn't afford any slip ups now, much less a scandal that would no doubt grace the pages of the Daily Prophet. His father's approval seemed more imperative than ever, and with all the death eater action going on, he definitely couldn't get close to a liability like Granger.

Narcissa, Draco knew, didn't want him to become a death eater. She hadn't said so in as many words, but she looked extremely uncomfortable every time Lucius brought the subject up. Draco was afraid of what he might be asked to do, once he'd sworn his loyalty to the Dark Lord. He knew that he was in a useful place for Voldemort: Hogwarts, Dumbledore and even Potter at his mercy. And even though Draco knew it was traitorous to even consider the possibility of Voldemort's downfall, he couldn't help worrying about what would happen to him should Voldemort lose.

Draco thought anxiously of his aunt Bellatrix, who had been sent to Azkaban for her sins. Draco had heard awful rumours about Azkaban, and terrible truths, and he knew enough to know that he never wanted to step foot in an Azkaban cell.

Was it even worth the risk, really? He flinched as he thought of how disappointed and enraged his father would be should he hear of these doubts. No. He had to be the perfect son, now more than ever. He couldn't disappoint his father and he couldn't disappoint Voldemort, either. He was acting as though he had a choice, which he didn't. Should he deny the Dark Lord, he wouldn't be allowed to just walk away. He would be killed for such a choice.

Draco took a deep breath and then he felt someone bound up to his side, and he knew who that someone was before she'd said anything, before he'd even looked down at her. Hermione Granger. She was like a second shadow: a lame angel on his shoulder. He cast her a withered glance and she grinned up at him with that- annoying- adorable smug smile, and those wide chocolate eyes. Her hair was messier than usual, which was quite a feat, and her cheeks were pink.

"Come with me," She said quickly, and she didn't wait for an answer: she grabbed Draco's hand and started off in a direction unknown to the blond boy. In his surprise, he didn't resist, but after a moment, he dug his heels into the ground and forced her to swing around to him, looking dreadfully insistent, "Come on, Draco, it'll just take a moment!"

She swung back and immediately was facing some guy's chest. The guy was taller than Hermione and even Draco, but Draco's cool gaze was intimidating enough to cancel out the height difference. The stranger had curly blond hair and a wide, leering smile, "Granger," He said happily, eyes bright," Fancy running into you."

Hermione looked unamused, "Ah, what a coincidence," She lied in a flat, monotonous voice, "Now, Cormac, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

Cormac wasn't looking at Hermione anymore, though. His attention had been taken my the infamous slytherin behind her, and his calculating eyes moved quickly to their joined hands. Draco couldn't be bothered to stifle the accusation growing in Cormac's eyes. "What are you doing with Malfoy?" He asked, his lips curling into a disbelieving sneer.

Draco rolled his eyes so he didn't notice Hermione doing the same, "Goodbye, Cormac," Hermione said decisively, making to walk around Cormac, but Cormac was not about to let her have her way. He sidestepped so he was in her way again.

"What, so you're too good for me, but not a Malfoy?" Cormac asked, insulted. "Are you kidding me?"

Hermione exhaled loudly, sounding exasperated and annoyed. "Goodbye, Cormac," She tried again, less civil this time.

Cormac made a rough grab for Hermione's forearm and Hermione's gasp rung in Draco's ears. "Hey, hold on a second, Granger," He smiled falsely, "I don't think you should be hanging around with the likes of Malfoy." Cormac looked Draco up and down condescendingly, "Hang with me instead."

Hermione went to argue, her brown eyes wide and outraged, but Draco beat her to it.

Draco pulled Hermione free of the vile gryffindor and stepped in front of her, looking at Cormac with a gaze that dared him to try something like that again. Cormac looked agitated.

Hermione stood there for a moment, watching the two guys stare at each other. She rolled her eyes: guys were imbeciles, she decided, each one more moronic than the last. "I'm busy right now, Cormac. Goodbye." She grabbed Draco's hand again and dragged him along. Draco finally realised that she was leading him to the quidditch pitch.

"So what did you want to show me?" Draco asked, looking around at the empty pitch and the empty stands. He'd seen this sight a dozen times that week alone, and there was nothing new to see. Still, Hermione had a quietly smug look on her face that promised trouble.

"Oh, nothing in particular," She said, quite simply.

"Nothing?" Draco asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yep." She pulled him off towards the gryffindor stands and ducked under the red fabric, pulling him along. "I just wanted to talk to you, like we talked in Hogsmeade, without all your goons hanging around." She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled impishly. Draco didn't feel particularly inclined to defend his friends, so he didn't. "I just want a real answer for why we suddenly can't be friends." She quirked an eyebrow, "Is it really just because of your father?"

Draco considered telling her no. Telling her that his father was just the tip of the iceberg, that his concerns were about the Dark Lord and his seemingly impending death. But, no, he couldn't tell this golden gryffindor any of that. He couldn't tell her that he would soon join the death eaters. She'd probably tell Potter, and then Potter would ruin everything.

"Yes," Draco lied, avoiding Hermione's inquisitive eyes. "My father," He sighed, "He'll hear about this."

Hermione smiled bitterly, "Then we'll just keep this on the down low," She said softly, "I can be subtle, you know?"

Draco wasn't sure he believed her, but he found that he didn't care as much as he'd thought he did.


End file.
